Discovery BoxJeremiah 37:19 
Context37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that 1 the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?
Jeremiah 38:5
Context38:5 King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. 2 For I cannot do anything to stop you.” 3
Jeremiah 38:12
Context38:12 Ebed Melech 4 called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits to pad the ropes. 5 Jeremiah did as Ebed Melech instructed. 6
Jeremiah 48:27
Context48:27 For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel?
Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, 7
that you shook your head in contempt 8
every time you talked about them? 9
Jeremiah 50:12
Context50:12 But Babylonia will be put to great shame.
The land where you were born 10 will be disgraced.
Indeed, 11 Babylonia will become the least important of all nations.
It will become a dry and barren desert.
1 tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.
2 tn Heb “Behold, he is in your hands [= power/control].”
3 tn Heb “For the king cannot do a thing with/against you.” The personal pronoun “I” is substituted in the English translation due to differences in style; Hebrew style often uses the third person or the title in speaking of oneself but English rarely if ever does. Compare the common paraphrasis of “your servant” for “I” in Hebrew (cf. BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד 6 and usage in 1 Sam 20:7, 8) and compare the usage in Pss 63:11 (63:12 HT); 61:6 (61:7 HT) where the king is praying for himself. For the meaning of יָכֹל (yakhol) as “to be able to do anything,” see BDB 407 s.v. יָכֹל 1.g.
4 tn Heb “Ebed Melech the Ethiopian.” The words “the Ethiopian” are unnecessary and are not repeated in the translation because he has already been identified as such in vv. 7, 10.
5 tn Heb “under the joints of your arms under the ropes.” The two uses of “under” have different orientations and are best reflected by “between your armpits and the ropes” or “under your armpits to pad the ropes.”
6 tn Or “Jeremiah did so.” The alternate translation is what the text reads literally.
7 tn Heb “were they caught among thieves?”
8 tn Heb “that you shook yourself.” But see the same verb in 18:16 in the active voice with the object “head” in a very similar context of contempt or derision.
9 tc The reading here presupposes the emendation of דְבָרֶיךָ (dÿvarekha, “your words”) to דַבֶּרְךָ (dabberkha, “your speaking”), suggested by BHS (cf. fn c) on the basis of one of the Greek versions (Symmachus). For the idiom cf. BDB 191 s.v. דַּי 2.c.α.
10 tn Heb “Your mother will be utterly shamed, the one who gave you birth…” The word “mother” and the parallel term “the one who gave you birth” are used metaphorically for the land of Babylonia. For the figure compare the usage in Isa 50:1 (Judah) and Hos 2:2, 5 (2:4, 7 HT) and see BDB 52 s.v. אֵם 2 and 408 s.v. יָלַד Qal.2.c.
11 tn Heb “Behold.” For the use of this particle see the translator’s note on 1:6.
